Just because the mentor is excited about the project does not mean you that will be six months into it.

This was published in 2006 ... .

Even if you switch the order of 'you' and 'that' the sentence still does not make sense, because 'does not mean that you will be six months into it' can be interpreted in two ways: 1) "you may not also feel excited," and 2) "just because the mentor is excited does not mean that you will be six months into YOUR WORK."

Honestly, and you guys want to be a respected journal?